Foreigners are to be banned from buying homes in New Zealand after a spate of millionaires seeking luxury doomsday boltholes has apparently crowded out local buyers and pushed up property prices.

Following purchases by rich expats, including tech billionaire Peter Thiel - PayPal founder and early Facebook investor - and disgraced former NBC host Matt Lauer, who lost his job after allegations of sexual misconduct - the New Zealand government is preparing to crack down on the trend.

New Zealand's allure for the mega-rich planning a safe space to ride out the apocalypse has become almost a cliche in recent years. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman told The New Yorker last year: "Saying you're buying a house in New Zealand is kind of a wink, wink, say no more."

But the country's centre-left government, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, is blaming the apocalypse preppers for a major housing crisis in the country, with rates of homelessness among the highest in the developed world.

Ms Arderns Labour party is adamant that a law change banning foreigners from buying most types of homes in the country - due to pass in parliament next week - will help damp down property prices, along with their plans to build 100,000 affordable housing units in a decade, resolve New Zealands zoning and infrastructure woes, and bolster its ailing construction industry.

The bill banning foreign buyers has been reeled in from an earlier, stricter, version, and will now allow foreigners to buy new apartments in large developments and multi-storey blocks. Existing homes remain off limits to non-residents, but people from Australia and Singapore will be exempt from the ban, due to free trade rules.

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